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Rainbow News

Vladimir Putin promised to "settle the issue" with Russian gays, "to understand each other and work out certain rules"

8 Apr. 2013

During his visit to the Netherlands the Russian President Vladimir Putin has expressed his appreciation to gays of Holland for not stripping in front of him in contrast to Femen's activists. He called on Russian gays "to seek consensus" but talked about same-sex marriage in the same context as about pedophilia.

"Thanks God, homosexualists did not strip here", said the head of the Russian state during the press-conference and added that "charms (of Femen's activists) they demonstrated here were not up to par...". Thus Vladimir Putin has disliked two demonstrations of sexuality...

At the press-conference Putin said that he personally was the only warrant of rights and freedoms of LGBT citizens of Russia. "There is no infringement of rights of sexual minorities, they enjoy every right and freedom in Russian Federation", EU mass-media cite Putin as saying. "I believe they (gays and lesbians) do not have any other president and I, as the President, protect their rights", he continued. He also told the audience that "gays in Russia were being promoted in their careers; state awards and honorary diplomas were also being awarded to them".

Putin has also noted his aim "to reach a compromise with this community (LGBT), to agree with them on team work. Not to quarrel but to reach a compromise, to understand each other and work out certain rules, civilized. I think it is possible".

He also repeated his previous idea that homosexuality leads to depopulation in Russia. "As I've said earlier I think it is necessary to protect the rights of sexual minorities. But we have to understand that children are not being born in same-sex marriages. In Europe as well as in Russia we are facing the challenge of depopulation".

Putin did not differentiate pedophilia, homosexuality and same-sex marriage. Putin's retinue is active on promoting the idea that pedophilia, homosexuality and same-sex marriage all have the same nature (voiced by Pavel Astakhov, the Russian Children Rights Ombudsman, and Saint-Petersburg's deputy Milonov). Putin believes that there are organizations in the Netherlands that "promote pedophilia". "...I believe that in some Russian regions people would take up arms [had such organizations be functioning there]. The same is for sexual minorities. For me it is hard to imagine that Chechnya would legalize same-sex marriage. Can you imagine that? There would be victims if it happened".

For reference: Today mass protest actions against homophobia rise in Russia took place in Amsterdam. The city was decorated with Rainbow flags and "shopped" images of Vladimir Putin. A day earlier in Germany Femen's activists slipped beyond the fencing, undressed topless and began to shout unprintable mottos on Putin in English. That event took place on Hannover Messe.

It should be noted that it was Putin's first tolerating speech on LGBT human rights so far. Up to now, however, in its foreign and internal policies Russia has been pursuing an LGBT suppression vector.

Vladimir Putin in his speech today has also justified fines for "homopropaganda" by "common mood in the country" and kept himself silent on perennial ban of any public gay action in Russia. Putin's statement was done against the backdrop of information from the State Duma that the federal law on homopropaganda would be made tougher during its second reading in the end of May this year.

The very demonstration during Vladimir Putin's motorcade in Amsterdam looked like this...